Turning Japanese

(open this link) When looking at the master narrative of the modernization of Japan, I think historians might need to add at least a bridge to it. The current master narrative is okay, it just doesn’t give much insight into the actual speed of the modernization that occurred in Japan. When watching the video that showed what the master narrative was it gave the impression that after the treaty was signed some people in Japan just dropped the kimono or the Yukata and put on a victoria dress or a twill suit. That just isn't what happened! In the primary sources, we learned that this was a SLOW process. People in Japan didn’t start to “weave” their culture with American or European culture for at least a couple of decades, and some of the older generations didn't pay any attention to the change. I think that's an important distinction. Dr. David Howell talked about this fact when he mentioned the USSR and before it dissolved the “normal” people in society were reading about what was happening. The normal world order people were so used to was suddenly changing in drastic ways, but what could they do about it? just read the paper and roll with the punches. So when people in Japan at the time started reading and hearing about this new European culture they might have just thought “okay whatever”, it wouldn't really start changing into what the master narrative says until the turn of the 19th century, which is a lot of time and slow blending of two completely different ideologies to skip over. The
“new” narrative might help to better bridge the two historical eras.

I drew a picture to help (in paint)

This new narrative might help people see the fuzzy points in between the two eras of Japan. I love the idea of this society that is slowly walking out of the dark into a world that is starting to run at a pace as fast as this song.

(that's right!! a call back)

Because I think being able to show people that Japan was able to modernize and industrialize enough in less than 100 years to fight America in the second world war and put up a damned good fight, Is amazing. However, it wasn't samurais on Monday and next Sunday they were building zero’s. It was people slowly walking before they took off and ran with what perry showed them.